Re: Loss of Amos and Andy copyright?

Lee Hamovitz <ldh[_at_]loop.com> wrote:
>
> A few years ago, I believe, there was a court decision, (possibly
> Supreme) regarding CBS, Inc. losing copyright to the old "Amos and
> Andy" characters. I think CBS claimed they felt the shows were
> racially offensive, so they kept them locked up in the vault, and
> sued when a theatrical stage producer tried to revive the characters.
> The court, I believe, ruled that CBS lost rights to the characters
> because they had done nothing over the years to proclaim their rights.
> In other words, they should have actively said "we own this and
> purposely aren't using it."

I'm not certain, but my recollection is that the case in question involved abandonment of the TRADEMARK "Amos 'n' Andy"---not the copyright in the characters themselves or the individual shows. Unlike trademark rights, copyright is not lost through non-use, only through expiration of the statutory term.

Bob Cumbow
<cumbr[_at_]perkinscoie.com> Received on Mon Apr 27 1998 - 18:24:57 GMT